IKAR: Russian wheat export prices up for ninth week with higher tax

MOSCOW, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Russian wheat export prices rose for the ninth consecutive week last week as the country's export tax continued to grow, analysts said on Monday.

Russian wheat with 12.5% protein loading from Black Sea ports for supply in early October was $300 a tonne, free on board (FOB), at the end of last week, up $0.50 from the previous week, the IKAR agriculture consultancy said in a note.

Sovecon, another consultancy, pegged wheat as having risen $2 to $303 a tonne while barley was steady at $260 a tonne. "Russian wheat continues to lose its competitive edge, but the unpredictable export tax does not allow exporters to lower prices," Sovecon said.

The wheat export tax, which Moscow has set on a weekly basis since June, will rise to $52.50 a tonne for Sept. 15-21, up from the current $46.50. The price index on which the tax is based remains lower than the actual FOB price.

"The index remains a big unpredictable variable for the prices, implying bigger risks that exporters need to reflect in price. In theory, it should continue to rise at a fast pace," Sovecon said.

Domestic wheat prices fell in response to more active supply from farmers, who think that the upside is quite limited with the current export tax or need to free up storage for other crops, Sovecon added.

 Product:             Price at the end       Change from week
                         of last week:                earlier
 - Domestic 3rd       14,925 roubles/t              -175 rbls
 class wheat,                ($204.14)  
 European part of                       
 Russia, excludes                       
 delivery (Sovecon)                     
 - Sunflower seeds       33,525 rbls/t              +925 rbls
 (Sovecon)                              
 - Domestic              91,500 rbls/t            -3,350 rbls
 sunflower oil                          
 (Sovecon)                              
 - export sunflower           $1,220/t                   -$10
 oil (Sovecon)                          
 - export sunflower           $1,250/t                   +$10
 oil (IKAR)                             
 - soybeans              47,500 rbls/t            -1,900 rbls
 (Sovecon)                              
 - white sugar,                 $622/t                  +$7.2
 Russia's south                         
 (IKAR)                                 
 ($1 = 73.1110 roubles)